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ignorance is the cause of fear
ii. with what plagues the mind a brief history of muggle and wizard relations on the british isles
By the turn of the 20th century the wizarding community in the British Isles is slowly crumbling. Tensions are raised tenfold, allies are shifting and prejudices are coming to the forefront. Purebloods everywhere forced to make an important decision, to allow non-magical born humans to live amongst them or protect that which is sacred. Centuries of war and turmoil boiling over within the walls of the Ministry.
Working within the Ministry on the Isle today are two different subgroups, wizards whose morals aligned with certain values. There were those who wanted nothing to do with muggle kind and saw them as a danger; Loyalists. And those who thought them useful and sought to learn from them; Progressives.
Prior to the 18th century interacting with muggle kind was a very dangerous thing to do for someone born with magic in their blood. Witch-hunting was common practice on the Isle for as long as magic had been running through its land, so much so that in the 10th century over half of the wizarding population had been assassinated, entire bloodlines wiped from the Earth. Wizards reduced to nothing but a name etched on a gravestone. Fear was second nature and coursing through the veins of every witch and wizard regardless of political affiliation.
But there was something in the magic that certain muggle kind held that could not be so easily overlooked. The more adventurous wizards reaching out where they could to learn more.
At the end of the 10th century formal education was introduced to all wizards on the Isle. A castle was built in the Highlands and concealed by magic so no muggle could ever harm them. Three members of the court, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw helped found the school in the hopes of reigniting faith and use of magic as well as implementing new ways to advance the structure of their society. Most importantly it helped the Ministry and court greatly, as their numbers and economy were dwindling with the lack of educated wizards.
Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were Progressives, who wished to implement human studies as well as allowing the magic wielding muggle folk to study alongside them. Ravenclaw was a Loyalist, who insisted that it was dangerous and the whole purpose of the school being concealed in the mountains was to keep out muggle kind. To ease her worries, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff suggested she pick an ally from the court to assist her in her wishes for the school. She had then requested to appoint Salazar Slytherin, an extreme Loyalist who upon induction to the project immediately insisted on teaching the dark arts, a type of magic frowned upon in the region, to ensure the safety and preparedness of all wizards and witches if they were ever to be persecuted by muggles.
